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“Depends on Dale’s stamina,” Hayden teased, and that made me laugh. Then, after thinking for a moment, he said, “I have an idea. Follow me.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond before turning toward the trees and walking off toward what looked like a sandy path. I hesitated, contemplating whether or not I should follow. I couldn’t come up with anything better to do, so I figured I might as well join him.
We could be on this island together for a while, so I was going to try to play nice.
CHAPTERFOUR
Hayden
The waterfall was my favorite spot on the island, and it was just a ten minute walk from the house. I wasn’t sure why I decided to bring Rylee here, but as we broke through the trees and it came into view, I couldn’t resist looking at her face. Her eyes widened and her jaw went slack in awe.
“It’s pretty great, right?” I asked.
There were tall trees all around the waterfall, which cascaded down an outcropping of rocks, much fuller now after last night’s storm. The body of water it poured into rippled, but was clear near the edges, allowing us to see the smooth stones at the bottom.
“It’s amazing,” Rylee agreed, setting down the suitcase she’d refused to let me carry and opening it up.
I watched curiously as she pulled a black case out of the inside. When she opened this, there was a camera inside. I didn’t know much about them, but it looked like a professional one to me, with a long lens and a strap that allowed her to wear it around her neck.
She started taking pictures while I headed to the deeper end of the water, looking at the trees. Finally, I spotted what I was looking for.
When I was a kid, I used to come to this place all the time with my brothers. My oldest brother, Logan, brought a thick rope out here once, and Dylan climbed up into a tall tree to tie it around a thick limb, creating a rope that would swing right toward the pool of water. It was still here after all this time.
“What’s that?” Rylee asked, and I turned to see that she had followed me.
“This isfun,” I said, giving the rope a rough tug to make sure it was still holding up. There was no give, so I assumed it was alright. “And what’s with the camera? Pretty fancy.”
Rylee gave me a genuine smile for the first time, and I felt the strangest warmth gathering in my chest at the sight of it. What was that about?
“It’s an SLR camera, and it’s probably the most ‘fancy’ thing I own,” she said, her eyes soft and pretty. “I love photography. My big dream is to open my own studio one day soon.”
“So being a flight attendant isn’t your passion?”
“Hardly,” she said with a shake of her head. “It pays the bills though.”
I reached behind my back and fisted my T-shirt at the back of my neck. In one smooth motion, I tugged it over my head and off.
“What are you doing?” Rylee asked, sounding almost alarmed.
Her eyes weren’t on my face as she spoke. They were glued to my abs. Then, she checked out my tattoos. I had a black tribal-style band around my left shoulder and a bear claw on my right pec.
“Well, I didn’t bring my swim trunks, so. . .” I said, unfastening my pants.
She blushed as I shucked them off, which I found equally amusing and cute. Who blushed like that over a little exposed skin?
I kept my boxers on—mostly to keep her from freaking out on me—as I grabbed the rope.
“You’re not really going to do that, are you?” Rylee asked, her voice holding a glimmer of panic.
“Why not?” I shrugged. “I told you, it’sfun.”
Her gaze followed the rope all the way up to where it was tied off. “What if the tree branch breaks?”
I grinned at her. “I’m going to end up in the water either way.”
Still, she looked at me like I was crazy as I backed up as far as the rope would go. There was an incline just beyond the tree, and it provided the perfect leverage for me to jump up into the air while clinging to the rope. My legs wrapped around the thick twine as I was propelled forward over the water.
The limb the rope was tied to made a creaking sound, but it held my weight. Once I was in the perfect position, suspended over the deepest part of the water, I let go, plummeting down into the cool depths of the lake with a shout full of glee.
